What's the secret to a long and healthy work relationship? Amber Marshall and Graham Wardle share their advice

The romantic relationship between horse-whisperer Amy Fleming (Amber Marshall) and Ty Borden (Graham Wardle) is one of the longest-running romances in Canadian TV history. As Heartland enters is twelfth season, we sat down with Marshall and Wardle to ask them about the secrets to successful long-term working relationships and how their onscreen bonds affect their offscreen friendships. They also share life lessons they've learned from their other co-stars, the horses of Heartland.

CBC Life: You two have been working closely together for twelve years and are still going strong. What do you think is the key to a successful working relationship?

Amber Marshall: It comes down to respect. Any relationship, professional or not, needs a level of respect and appreciation for each other. From day one, the cast of Heartland didn't have any type of competitiveness. It's always been about making this wonderful project together. It's not about one individual, it's not about this is how I do things and you'll have to get over it. It's more like 'How do you do things? Let's work together.'

Graham Wardle: It works because we have a shared vision. We want the same thing. When you have respect for the people you work with, a shared vision of what you're doing, what you're working towards, that to me is the foundation of a good working relationship. If you can't agree on where you're headed and why you're going there, you won't be in coherence with other.

CBC Life: Can you say in one sentence what your shared vision is?

Amber Marshall: We just want to make great television.

Graham Wardle: When we come shoot a scene, it's not "How does this scene make my character look better?", it's "How do we tell this story in a way that is authentic and can make people connect with that sense of a family unit being loving and supporting?"

CBC Life: Do you think that your on-screen relationship has affected your offscreen working relationship, or are the two totally separate?

Amber Marshall: I think it's built it. When you're working on a personal level all the time, and your characters mesh with each other, you pick up on those traits. And I think that the fact that we've been in a relationship on the show for twelve years has brought us closer together off-screen.

But it can also go the other way. Sometimes people come on the show and our characters won't see eye-to-eye, but then we really hit it off on a personal level. For example Kaitlyn Leeb plays Cassandra, and when she first came on the show, Amy and Cassandra did not see eye to eye, they just completely couldn't stand each other. But Kaitlyn and I got along really well and, over the years, our characters started to see eye-to-eye. So maybe it's about the people too, not just the stories.

CBC Life: Amy and Ty are a source of inspiration and support for one another. Can you two tell me how you've inspired each other in real life?

Graham Wardle: When Amber started her magazine and her clothing line and jewelry, she just stepped up. It was really inspiring to see her taking the next step on her own, with nobody telling her to do it. It was awesome.

Amber Marshall: Graham has always been really good at grounding me in scenes. When I can't quite figure out the motivation for a certain scene or I don't quite understand it, he's really good at helping me step back and look at the picture and think about where these characters are going. Just being able to talk back and forth because he's my co-worker and my friend is helpful, but I think he's really great at opening ideas for me as a fellow actor and making me appreciate the writing and what's on the page.

CBC Life: Are there any techniques particular to acting that you think could help people who are not actors with the work relationships?

Amber Marshall: Respect is huge. If you don't respect your co-workers, it's hard to have an understanding of their ideas and where they want to go. Also, in acting it's so important to appreciate that everyone does things a little differently. Everyone has their own method, their own style, how they get there. Respecting people's individual process is so important. This is true whatever you're doing with your life.

Graham Wardle: Respecting people's boundaries and their own choices is also key. When I approach Amber and we're talking about a scene, and I have my own ideas about how she should do it, I know that it's her decision and I respect that and will work with that. In work relationships people are often like "I don't think what you're doing is good enough. I want you to do it this way." That creates tension, because you don't respect that person's autonomy. You have to respect people's individual choice and at least try to meet halfway.

CBC Life: What are three thing you've learned about life from horses?

Amber Marshall:

1. Read your situations
2. Understand your motivations, and the direction you want to go.
3. Don't overthink it. Just be who you are. Horses don't overthink. They just are who they are.

Graham Wardle:

1. Look where you want to go. On a horse, if you are looking somewhere else, and twisting around, your horse will follow where you're looking.
    
2. Your internal state influences your external world. If I'm upset or nervous or anxious, the horse is going to feel that. Pay attention to what's going on in your internal world because it's going to impact your external world directly when you're on a horse.
    
3. Presence: animals are very present. Being with a horse is always a very cleansing experience because it just melts away thoughts about the future and about the past. They are always right here right now, and that's a beautiful thing.

Season 12 of Heartland premieres Sunday, January 6, 2019 at 7 p.m. (7:30 NT) on CBC and the CBC Gem streaming service (launching December 2018).